1. Field of the Invention
The present invention deals with the field of firestop sealing devices positionable between the upper edge of the gypsum wallboard and the lower edge of a floor located thereabove commonly defined as the head-of-wall area of building construction. Many of these floor configurations can have various shapes and designs and a need exists for a means of sealing this area in the event of a fire to prevent passage of unwanted flames, heat and gases therebetween. The present invention is particularly useful when attached with respect to any of the commonly available top of wall constructions. The flexibly resilient intumescent gasket of the present design is very useful for the purpose of replacing the common current practice of utilizing filler materials such as caulk or firestopping mastic materials in the otherwise opened head-of-wall joint areas beneath floor and above the gypsum wallboard therebelow. Use of such materials is labor intensive and the quality of the final fire seal is greatly dependent on the skill level of the on-site worker.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many patents have been granted for various constructions for the purpose of sealing the opened head-of-wall joint areas between gypsum wallboard and the lower surface of a floor or ceiling construction located immediately thereabove such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,109,655 patented Mar. 1, 1938 to J. Sylvan on a “Building Construction”; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,111,634 patented Mar. 22, 1938 to G. F. Kotrbaty and assigned to Ferrocon Corporation on a “Building Structure And Joint Therefor”; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,180,317 patented Nov. 14, 1939 to C. F. Davis and assigned to American Cyanamid & Chemical Corporation on a “Metal Decking”; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,291,616 patented Aug. 4, 1942 to J. Fletcher and assigned to The Plastergon Wall Board Company on a “Method Of Coating Webs”; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,616,866 to W. Juda and assigned to Pyrotron Development Corporation on a “Fire Retardant”; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,717,062 patented Sep. 6, 1955 to L. F. Dusing et al and assigned to Dusing & Hunt, Inc. F. H. Saino Manufacturing Company on a “Fire Door”; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,915,150 patented Dec. 1, 1959 to R. W. Weidler on a “Basement Assembly And Prefabricated Structural Units Therefor”; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,926,928 patented Mar. 1, 1960 to W. Bennett and assigned to Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company on a “Unitary Floor And Frame Structure For Vehicles”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,062,338 patented Nov. 6, 1962 to E. J. De Ridder et al and assigned to Reynolds Metals Company on “Double Faced Panels”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,151,663 patented Oct. 6, 1964 to W. A. Bohner et al and assigned to General Motors Corporation on an “Inflatable Closure Apparatus”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,170,269 patented Feb. 23, 1965 to J. B. Dunnington and assigned to Butler Manufacturing Company on a “Base Channel Panel Footing Structure”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,217,453 patented Nov. 16, 1965 to R. S. Medow and assigned to Leonard I. Vogel on a “Facing Structure And Article”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,231,644 patented Jan. 25, 1966 to M. Y. Chang on a “Method And Apparatus For Building Construction”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,269,072 patented Aug. 30, 1966 to J. J. Black and assigned to Pullman Incorporated on a “Vehicle Floor Construction”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,273,297 patented Sep. 20, 1966 to H. W. Wehe, Jr. and assigned to Overly Manufacturing Company on a “Door And Panel Construction”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,315,429 patented Apr. 25, 1967 to W. D. Swanson and assigned to National Steel Corporation on a “Wall Construction And Element”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,328,926 patented Jul. 4, 1967 to K. Reinhard and assigned to Ador Corporation on an “Inflatable Housing Construction”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,343,324 patented Sep. 26, 1967 to W. Gordon and assigned to William Gordon and Eve Gordon on an “Underwater Structural Unit”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,357,142 patented Dec. 12, 1967 to J. F. Furrer et al and assigned to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army on a “Foam Plastic Shelter”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,357,146 patented Dec. 12, 1967 to J. T. Gartrell and assigned to Birdsboro Corporation on a “Building Panel Splicing”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,414,320 patented Dec. 3, 1968 to G. Heim and assigned to Daimler-Benz Aktiengesellschaft on a “Sliding Roof, Especially for Motor Vehicles”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,501,868 patented Mar. 24, 1970 to J. V. Ganzinotti and assigned to Equipment Moderne Industriel par application du Caoutchonc Manufacture et des Plastiques EMI on “Sealing Joints”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,508,368 patented Apr. 28, 1970 to W. Tischuk et al and assigned to H. H. Robertson Company on a “Building Panel Having Tapered Counter-Sunk End Portion And Method Of Erecting The Same”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,601,942 patented Aug. 31, 1971 to J. D. Wilson on a “Building Wall Construction”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,631,644 patented Jan. 4, 1972 to L. Mazza and assigned to Industrie A. Zanussi S.p.A. on a “Sectional Frame For Refrigerators”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,786,604 patented Jan. 22, 1974 to F. Kramer and assigned to U.F. Chemical Corp. on a “Fire Stop Between Floor Slab And Curtain Wall Of Building”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,253 patented Dec. 17, 1974 to J. A. Slowbe on a “Joint Construction Between Supported And Supporting Members”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,044,510 patented Aug. 30, 1977 to L. O'Neal on a “Venting Valve For Inflatable Dock Seals”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,925 patented Sep. 6, 1977 to L. O'Neal on an “Inflatable Dock Seal And Mounting Therefor”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,155,208 patented May 22, 1979 to J. A. Shanabarger on “Building Insulation And Method Of Installation”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,756 patented Feb. 19, 1980 to S. O. B. Ljungbo and assigned to Erecta AG on a “Heat-Insulated Plastic Hall”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,267,609 patented May 19, 1981 to G. Altman et al and assigned to Thermasol Ltd. on a “Gasket Assembly For Coupling Drainage Outlet Openings In Bathtub Liner Installations”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,645 patented Aug. 23, 1983 to P. D. Murphy et al and assigned to Lou Weitz, Jeriline Ward and Joy Murphy on a “Bladder Insulation”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,341 patented May 22, 1984 to P. C. Tagianetti et al and assigned to PPG Industries, Inc. on a “Fire Containment Arrangement For Curtain Wall Construction”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,802 patented Jun. 26, 1984 to J. Charniga on “Wire Screen Fire Stops”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,332 patented Jul. 30, 1985 to K. Gartner and assigned to Yoshid Kogyo K. K. on a “Rooftop Parapet For Thermally-Insulated Curtain Wall”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,032 patented Jun. 30, 1987 to P. Jutras on an “Inflatable Wall Structure”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,373 patented Jul. 14, 1987 to B. Ludwig on a “Method And Device For The Aligning Of An Element, E.G. Frame, To Be Inserted Into A Wall Opening”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,514 patented Mar. 29, 1988 to T. L. Kelly on a “Building Construction With Meltable Insulation And Reservoir Trough Therefor”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,866,898 patented Sep. 19, 1989 to A. R. LaRoche et al and assigned to Manville Corporation on a “Fire Resistant Expansion Joint”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,037 patented Sep. 26, 1989 to J. J. Murphy on a “Wall Construction”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,897 patented Apr. 24, 1990 to C. W. Luedtke on a “Construction System For Detection Structures And Multiple Story Buildings”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,257 patented Sep. 17, 1991 to C. W. Luedtke on a “Construction System For Detection Structures And Multiple Story Buildings”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,249 patented Feb. 18, 1992 to T. Marzouki and assigned to Roland-Werke Dachbaustoffe and Bauschemie GmbH & Co. KG on a “Roof Covering Or Wall Covering”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,187,910 patented to J. D. Nicholas et al on Feb. 23, 1993 and assigned to MM Systems Corporation on a “Fire Barrier System”; and U.S. Patent No. 5,417,019 patented May 23, 1995 to D. P. Marshall et al and assigned to Lamson & Sessions Co. on a “Passthrough Device With Firestop”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,350 patented Aug. 12, 1997 to B. L. Patton on a “Method For Retro-Fit Forming Firestops In Existing Wall Structures With Blown Insulation”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,332 patented Jun. 16, 1998 to H. V. Landin et al and assigned to Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company on a “Fire Barrier Protected Dynamic Joint”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,668 patented May 9, 2000 to T. R. Herren on a “Seismic And Fire-Resistant Head-Of-Wall Structure”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,125,608 patented Oct. 3, 2000 to J. A. Charlson and assigned to United States Building Technology, Inc. on “Composite Insulated Framing Members And Envelope Extension System For Buildings”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,352 patented Oct. 17, 2000 to V. Barnes et al on a “Fire Barrier”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,418,689 patented Jul. 16, 2002 to P. Hacquard and assigned to Someta on a “Removable Wall System”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,698,146 patented Mar. 2, 2004 to M. D. Morgan et al and assigned to W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn. on “In Situ Molded Thermal Barriers”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,345 patented Aug. 31, 2004 to M. D. Morgan et al and assigned to W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn. on “In Situ Molded Thermal Barriers”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,043,880 patented May 16, 2006 to M. D. Morgan and assigned to W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn. on “In Situ Molded Thermal Barriers”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,152,385 patented Dec. 26, 2006 to M. D. Morgan et at and assigned to W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn. on “In Situ Molded Thermal Barriers”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,424,793 patented Sep. 16, 2008 to J. C. Shriver and assigned to Thermafiber, Inc. on an “Interlocking Curtain Wall Insulation System”.